Marina owner charged with grand theft, fraud

Sheriff says Pompano businessman refused to return some deposits

January 19, 2009|By Jon Burstein Staff Writer

A Pompano Beach marina owner faces 10 felony charges after he tricked people trying to buy or sell pricey speedboats and refused to return large deposits on some transactions that fell through, authorities say.

Among the allegations is that Gaudreau, acting as a broker, sold a Cigarette racing boat for almost $271,000, then lied about the sale in a court proceeding, saying the boat was still at Hideaway Marina.

In the past year alone, eight civil lawsuits have also been filed against the dry storage marina or its subsidiaries.

Gaudreau, who is free on bond, will plead not guilty to all criminal charges, said his attorney, Richard Rosenbaum.

His client shouldn't be in criminal court, because the matters are business disputes that should be resolved in civil court, the attorney said.

"All of these deals are done with written contracts, and these are not some naive individuals coming into boat transactions," Rosenbaum said.

Hideaway Marina, 599 S. Federal Highway, has 15 employees and is described on its Web site as "one of the few dry storage marinas left in South Florida due to hurricanes and economic development."

Gaudreau has been in the South Florida boating business for more than 15 years and has never been in trouble with police before, Rosenbaum said.

In addition to the Pompano Beach location, the marina has a 20,000-square-foot warehouse in Oakland Park to store boats on trailers.

Broward Sheriff's Detective John Calabro said the department's investigation of Hideaway Marina began after numerous complaints were filed at about the same time.

"There are big [dollar] numbers when people have their boats sold," Calabro said. "This was an involved investigation, but we moved very fast because the facts were there."

Gaudreau was released from the Broward County Jail on two bonds totaling $366,000, according to the Sheriff's Office.

He faces five grand theft counts, two counts of uttering a forged instrument, a perjury count, a fraud count and a count of failure to place funds in a trust account.

In two instances, Gaudreau is accused of pocketing deposits for boat deals that fell through - $340,000 in one case, $25,000 in another.

Authorities allege he not only failed to refund the $340,000 deposit, but didn't keep it in a trust account as required by state law.

Another criminal case alleges Gaudreau failed to pay a Texas marina owner for a racing boat he agreed to sell on his behalf.

Authorities allege Gaudreau lied in a March 2007 deposition when he said that he hadn't sold the vessel and that it was shrink-wrapped in storage at Hideaway Marina.

The boat was sold in late 2006, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office.

Gaudreau also is accused of stealing $1.39 million from a Nevada-based company.

Gaudreau and Hideaway Marina borrowed about $3.1 million from TG Investments to buy and sell Cigarette speedboats.

Gaudreau paid back $1.7 million before he stopped making payments in January 2007, according to court records.

Joshua Weintraub, an attorney for TG Investments, declined to comment on Gaudreau's arrest or the company's civil suit against Hideaway Marina.

Rosenbaum said each dispute is a civil matter. For example, he said, with TG Investments, the dispute is largely a result of the Nevada company's having problems with paperwork.

Hideaway Marina is for sale, but not as a result of the accusations against Gaudreau, Rosenbaum said.

Jon Burstein can be reached at jburstein@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4491.

INFORMATIONAL BOX:

Pierre Gaudreau, 39, has been arrested twice since November. Eight civil lawsuits also have been filed against the Hideaway Marina or its subsidiaries in the past year alone. The marina, at 599 S. Federal Highway, Pompano Beach, is for sale for unrelated reasons. Gaudreau is free on bond.